Only When Prompted
by WritingAmateur
Summary: A collection of short vignettes and drabbles based on prompts/quotations. To be continually updated. TAKING REQUESTS! Leave me a review, PM me a quotation or a prompt for a Yu-Gi-Oh pairing... this is just me practicing quick writing. Trustshipping, Prideshipping, Peachshipping, Polarshipping, and more!
1. Carry

**Prompt: **"I'll carry you, hold still or it'll hurt more."

**Pairing: **Seto x Ishizu (Trustshipping)

* * *

"Ishizu, you _cannot_ expect me to think you can do this."

Seto's ankle still smarted, his pant leg rolled up to his calf as he cradled his throbbing foot in his hands.

Perhaps an evening going dancing had not been in his best interest.

Ishizu stood over him, hands on hips, eyes narrowed. How had he managed to do this during what had to be the simplest of waltzes?

She let out a sigh at his petulant tone. "What—you think I _can't_ carry you? I've lugged ancient marble sculptures up flights of stairs with only one or two assistants."

"Yes, but—" _As if I would let my girlfriend carry me off the dance floor like a child. I'd rather die._

Well, perhaps that was a bit dramatic.

Ishizu rolled her eyes. "Seto, dear," she said through gritted teeth, "people are _starting to stare._"

Seto fought the urge to pout. "Fine…"

Graceful as an ocean wave, Ishizu bent down in her 3-inch heels, grabbed Seto by his shoulders, and lifted him onto her back so that his arms crossed around her neck, his good foot dragging on the ground behind him.

Seto buried his face in Ishizu's neck, trying to hide his sudden blush. "How the _hell_ are you doing this? Am I secretly dating Wonder Woman?"

Ishizu bit back a smirk as she responded:

"You'll never know, will you?"


	2. Meeting

**Prompt: **"As Seto Kaiba left Kaiba Manor, she didn't bother straightening her jacket in the foyer mirror. She was confident she looked more than fine—attractive in a way her enemies would find disarming."

**Pairing: **Girl!Seto x Ishizu

* * *

As Seto Kaiba left Kaiba Manor, she didn't bother straightening her jacket in the foyer mirror. She was confident she looked more than fine—attractive in a way her enemies would find disarming.

And, hopefully, Ishizu Ishtar would find… tantalizing? She shook her head to rid herself of the silly thought, despite the downright graphic, often tender feelings she did find herself having when she thought of the seraphic Egyptian woman.

She slid into the limousine and caught a glimpse of herself in the tinted window. Damn. She was going for imperious and professional, not meltingly, devastatingly attractive. Perhaps the fact that she was meeting the aforementioned curator for lunch (a business lunch, mind you, she reminded herself begrudgingly) had put that flush of crimson in her cheeks, that positively animal glint in her eyes. Yet who was she to complain?

Ishizu, for her part, found it hard to resist the charms of the confident, veering-on-haughty CEO who sat across from her. It was a mite difficult to focus on business matters with that knowing look, that smirk on those reddened lips challenging her at every turn, making her forget herself, her manners.

She squeezed her thighs together under the table, sure her face was bright red. This gesture did not escape Seto's notice, who reached a hand under the tablecloth and brushed it against Ishizu's covered knee.

Ishizu bit back a sigh as thoughts of professionalism and business flew from both their heads.

Both of them knew that Seto Kaiba had laid her trap quite well.

What Seto Kaiba wanted, she got.


	3. Cry

**Prompt: **"Stop crying and listen to me."

**Pairing: **Seto x Ishizu (Trustshipping)

* * *

Ishizu blinked back the tears that threatened to pour from her eyes as she gripped Seto's fingers tightly, like they were the only anchor in a world that was drowning, drowning.

Seto pressed his lips to her forehead, his voice gentler this time. "Please, Ishizu… I wish you would stop crying. There's nothing either of us can do about this."

Ishizu sniffed, knowing full well how much like a sopping rag she must have looked. "Yes, but… but… three _years, _Seto. That's quite—quite a lot of time for you to be away." _Away from Domino, away from—from me._

He ran his fingers along the curve of her back, hoping to soothe her sobs and to calm the hammering of his heartbeat. Three years was quite a long time to be away for business, no less. And while the offer had seemed good when he'd agreed to it a year prior, things… had come up since then. _Important things—things I don't know if I can risk losing_.

_How uncanny. How inconvenient._

Ishizu slumped her shoulders and buried her face in her hands. "I—I just wish that we could have had more time together before you leave." _It's only been a few weeks. _

Seto moved his lips to above her ear, hand moving to the small of her back. "Three years _is _a fucking long time, Ishizu. I didn't _exactly plan on this _when I agreed to this opportunity."

"I know." Ishizu looked up at him, trying to steel herself. "It's not something you _can _plan…"

Seto closed his eyes briefly, an unspoken prayer fluttering from his lips. He looked back at her and took his hand in his. "Will… oh god, I _cannot_ believe I'm asking this… will you wait for me? While I'm gone?" _Please. Please. I know this sounds utterly ridiculous, but…_

Ishizu pressed her lips together and widened her eyes.

Her lips curled in a sad smile. "As if there were any other option."


	4. Tango

**Prompt:** Argentine Tango.

**Pairing: **Seto x Ishizu

* * *

Ishizu huffed in annoyance as her feet failed to obey her mental commands. _This should not be this difficult. I am a woman of poise, of grace..._

_This damned tango will be the death of me._

Seto noticed her rapidly souring mood and smirked, pressing his hand firmly against her back, heated flesh burning through her shirt. His other hand held hers firmly; or rather, she clutched at his raised hand as if she would surely trip over her own feet.

It seemed as if the unflappable Ishizu Ishtar, despite her many charms, her immaculate control over her movements, was utterly _rubbish_ at dancing.

He nearly crowed in delight at the positively _adorable_ wrinkle between her brows, at her determined yet useless efforts at getting her feet and body to flow correctly with the music, at how _frustrated_ they made her.

_God_. She nearly unmade him every time.

"Should I go grab us a rose?" he whispered into her ear with mock innocence, his breath on her neck certainly not helping her concentration any. "Perhaps that would help?" He fought back a husky chuckle.

Ishizu narrowed her eyes at him, cheeks breaking out in a flush. "Come on, Seto. I can do this. This _cannot_ be that hard for me..."

His nearness was proving most distracting, as it so often did.

Seto smiled rather wickedly and moved his hand to the small of her back, moving his lips to her temple. He noticed the hitch in her breath with delight.

"Honestly, Ishizu, I have no idea why this is _so hard_ for you," he quipped, pressing a tiny kiss on that wrinkle on her forehead. "It's just simple steps..."

Ishizu rolled her eyes. "Seto, please do not mock me. I am _quite_ serious about learning to dance-I have no idea why it has proven so much harder for me than it has for you."

Her voice trailed off as Seto gently moved her on the dance floor, resuming the languid, sensual steps of the tango. _Oh God, please do not let me trip... again..._

"I think you're... _overthinking things_," he murmured, moving his thumb in a circle against her blouse, her back. Ishizu bit the inside of her cheek to keep her breathing in check.

Seto noticed this, as he noticed everything.

"It's not just about knowing the steps," he continued silkily.

Ishizu looked up at him, eyes wide with confusion.

Seto took this opportunity to press his hips against hers, coloring her cheeks that _delectable_ scarlet again.

"You have to _feel_ it."


	5. Karaoke

**Prompt: **Karaoke + Trustshipping

**Pairing: **Seto x Ishizu

* * *

"Remind me _why_ we went out with the damn Peanut Gallery again?" hissed Seto to Ishizu, who lowered the glass of red wine from her lips and responded:

"Because they invited us and consider us—well, you, at least, however quixotic that attempt may be—to be friends. It's _polite. And harmless_."

_Honestly, would it truly kill Seto Kaiba to be sociable for once?_

One look at his positively curmudgeonly expression as he sat next to her, the pair of them packed tightly into a booth in some dive bar with Yugi, Téa, Joey, Tristan, Serenity, Duke, Bakura, and Mai, and it was clear that yes, in some way, this endeavor possibly _would._

Seto tucked his chin to his chest miserably, crossing his arms in front of him on the table. "Like _hell_ it's harmless. And I don't do _polite, _I…"_  
_

"Yes, yes, we all know you only do_ ruthless_ and _powerful_, Seto Kaiba," Ishizu replied flippantly, her teasingly formal address making his eyes roll dismissively.

Ishizu and Seto were certainly a set of oddities among this raucous, genial collection; Ishizu had chosen wine, of all things, and Seto had chosen to sulk instead of drink. The rest of the gang paid them no mind as they exchanged cards and stories and swapped glasses of beer, shots of liquor. As it stood, Mai was currently kicking Joey's ass at drinking, surprising utterly no-one; Téa, Bakura, and Duke were watching over Yugi, who, despite his tiny frame and birdlike body mass, insisted on drinking with the rest of them, and Serenity was tugging at Tristan's sleeve, sweetly pleading, "please, Tristan… you know I love watching you sing…"

Tristan's face was bright scarlet as he responded in a hushed whisper: "Serenity, babe, that's something that's _between us… keep your voice down!_"

Ishizu patted Seto on the head, almost condescendingly, as she caught wind of Tristan and Serenity's hushed conversation.

_Karaoke, hmm? Not something I've done before, but…_

She drained her wine glass and whispered smoothly in Seto's ear: "You might want to keep your eyes on me, Seto…"

His head lifted from where it was buried in his arms curiously as Ishizu stood up and motioned for the gang to get out of her way.

"What are ya doing, Ishizu?" questioned Joey drunkenly as Ishizu reached for the shot glass before him that dripped with whiskey and knocked it back, feeling confidence surge through her veins.

"You go, girl!" cheered Mai, clapping her well-manicured hands in delight as Ishizu made her quiet way up to the stage with its tiny, cheap karaoke machine and its squeaky black microphone.

Seto felt himself begin to blush with secondhand embarrassment at what Ishizu was doing. _Good god. This woman._ She constantly surprised him, and usually for the better.

Would this situation prove similar?

Ishizu scrolled through the list of songs that flickered on the neon-green screen and selected one, a smile curling on her lips.

She took her place at the microphone, only half-believing that she was doing this sort of thing—in public, no less.

No matter that Ishizu Ishtar was not a particularly good singer in the first place. She was getting rather bored with Seto's endless grouching at this completely benign occasion, and if her little act helped amuse him…?

_Well, that would be an added benefit._

The first beats of the music began to thrum throughout the bar, while the gang in the booth (save Seto) cheered and clapped for her in encouragement.

Ishizu fixed her eyes on Seto, her gaze nearly sultry under her thick lashes, and slid her coat off her shoulders and onto the ground, revealing her collarbone and a faint hint of cleavage. _Gods, this is embarrassing? What silly thing shall I do next?_

She certainly had Seto's attention. And while Ishizu Ishtar was not gifted with song, her graceful movements and sheer nervous enjoyment of what she was doing somehow made this whole thing seem worth it to him.

Partially, anyway.


	6. Fugu

**Prompt:** Trying food's from each other's countries, Part 1

**Pairing:** Seto x Ishizu (natch)

* * *

"Seto…" Ishizu regarded the plate before her with some trepidation. The _fugu _sashimi was arranged very beautifully in a flower-like, circular mandala-esque pattern— almost _too_ pretty for her to consider eating.

That explained her trepidation. Most certainly. And certainly not because…

"Ishizu, you're_ afraid_, aren't you?" Seto regarded the woman beside him with a smirk. He lifted his glass of sake and took a sip, eyes gleaming in a positively _devilish _manner.

"Well, now that you mention it, I'm not overly fond of the idea of food that could poision me, no," murmured Ishizu, starting to feel rude for not eating. The waiter had long since left the plate on the table, so thank Gods for that. As if she needed to feel any _more_ uncomfortable at this time.

Seto rolled his eyes, a chuckle blossoming under his breath. "Ishizu, trust me. I have not taken you to the most expensive restaurant in Domino City in order to poision you with _fugu._"

"It would be a convenient way to get rid of me, no?" quipped Ishizu, the bluish translucent sashimi appearing to swim in the corner of her eye.

Seto's smirk grew wider; Ishizu's heart fluttered in her chest, as it so often did at that damned _sexy_ look on his face.

He placed a hand on her knee, wrinkling the long skirt under his hands as he gently started to hike it up her leg. Ishizu felt herself blush—thank _Gods_ they were alone—as Seto leaned over to whisper in her ear:

"Now, my dear Ishizu, _why_ would I _ever_ want to get rid of you?"

"I was starting to wonder…" Ishizu trailed off, allowing her hand to travel up to his tie, to pull him in closer.

Two could play at this game easily.

She grasped the slick fabric around his neck and brought his lips to within a hair's breadth of hers.

"Fine, Seto Kaiba," she nearly cooed, an idea alighting itself in her mind. _Ha._"I'll try the _fugu_… on a few conditions."

"Such as?" His breath was warm against her lips, sending a shiver down her spine.

"Such as… you make it worth my while, Seto Kaiba." Ishizu's lips formed a gentle curve as she whispered something into Seto's ear.

Something that made the unflappable Seto Kaiba nearly go pink at her rashness, her _naughtiness_.

"Oh my. _ Miss Ishtar_," returned Seto, his smile positively wolfish. "What else?"

"That you allow me to return the favor, and let me take you out for Egyptian food tomorrow night."

Here Seto pouted, almost giving her the feeling of holding a puppy on a leash. A rich, snobby puppy. "Ishizu… you know I'm a picky eater…"

"And I am not?" Ishizu challenged, letting go of the chopsticks and picking up her chopsticks expertly.

She clicked them together and reached for a piece of the bluish _fugu. _It was a shame to spoil the perfect radial symmetry of the chef's design.

"Besides, I promise I'll make it worth _your_ while."

Seto perked up. "Ah, Ishizu. Let me count the ways in which that suits me _just_ fine." He reached for his chopsticks and picked up a piece of sashimi, meeting her eyes.

She reached her free hand for his.

"On three?"


	7. Woods

**Prompt:** Prideshipping, lost in the woods

**Pairing:** Yami x Seto, Prideshipping

* * *

Yami sat down heatedly on the ground and took in his surroundings, wishing that any of these verdant green trees looked distinct from one another. Perhaps they could find their way out of these blasted woods if they could find some sort of landmark…

"Yugi, this is getting _absurd_. I don't know why you insisted that the two of us stick together—we could _obviously_ cover much more ground if we split up," came the thoroughly annoyed voice of Seto Kaiba. The taller duelist was still standing, glaring down at the smaller duelist with a haughty attempt at apathy. _This dweeb really doesn't know when to quit, does he? At least admit that you've gotten us lost in this virtual prison, and then we can move onward, dammit._

The hold that the so-called Pharaoh seemed to have on him, without knowledge or without trying to, was only serving to fully piss him off. He found himself consciously fighting the urge to stare into the petite man's scarlet eyes, to let his own blue eyes skim over Yami's slender, toned frame like he was eyeing a piece of meat… _Stop. _Best to keep up the pretense that the only source of his poor attitude was anger and loathing, rather than…

…_frustration._

_Frustration that is clearly unreturned._

"I refuse to let you go off on your own, Kaiba," remarked Yami sternly, shaking his head firmly, the blond bangs fluttering around his face. "What purpose could it possibly serve for _both_ of us to get lost in these woods separately?"

Seto's voice was perhaps harsher than it needed to be when he replied: "Well, at least I wouldn't have to be lost with _you_."_  
_

Yami flicked his eyes to his shoes briefly, hoping to hide the flush on his cheeks at the cruelty he should have expected from the ice-cold Seto Kaiba.

He sighed under his breath, forcing himself not to take in the tall drink of water that was Seto Kaiba, with that appealingly husky voice and brown hair that fell into his eyes, without his thinking about how damned _beautiful _it made him look…

_As far as he's concerned, we're merely rivals. Not even friends… and certainly not…_ _more._

Yami finally stood up, legs slightly shaky, and surveyed the never-ending canopy that stretched above the pair of duelists. _The forest really could go on forever. Who knows what Noah's capable of?__  
_

Suddenly, his wide eyes alighted on a tree with a particularly low-hanging branches. _Hmmm… perhaps?_

He slid the Duel Disk off his arm and walked over to the tree. Seto watched him, trying to puzzle out what exactly this strange not-Yugi was hoping to accomplish.

"Yugi, what…"

"Kaiba, I believe that if I can attain enough altitude in this tree, perhaps I could gain sight of where the edge of this virtual forest is." _It's not an awful idea…_

"Isn't that unnecessarily _dangerous_?" blurted out Seto before he could stop himself. He coughed unpleasantly, trying to avoid meeting the smaller duelist's eyes. "I mean, look at you. You're like a twig. You probably can't even climb a tree…"

Yami rolled his eyes, daring himself not to linger on what Seto had just said, and responded by hoisting himself up several feet using a series of strategically picked branches.

Seto looked at Yami's motions in the tree, almost awestruck. He folded his arms across his chest. "See anything yet?" _Idiot. _

_Don't stare at his ass, dammit. Don't…!_

"So far, nothing yet," came back the former Pharaoh's voice. "Oh gods, though, Kaiba… it's really _quite _remarkable. You really must see this…"

While Yami couldn't make out an end to the forest, once he had climbed above the canopy of green, he could take in a _breathtaking_ series of snow-capped mountains and volcanoes gently emitting smoke. Above the tree line, the sky was a brilliant pink-orange, all combed through with _gold._

Yami straddled a branch to steady himself. Despite everything, he found himself closing his eyes and letting out a deep breath. He smiled slightly.

A rustling motion beneath him shot a terror through his veins. _Noah's goons again? _He looked down below him, and saw none other than Seto Kaiba, a twig or two stuck in his chestnut hair, attempting to climb up to where Yami currently sat.

Seto was breathing heavily, and not just from the effort expended in climbing up his high. "Yugi… what the _hell_ are you doing…? Get down from there before one of Noah's spies finds you…"

His hand on the branch where Yami sat began to slip, and without thinking about the dangerous repercussions of such a simple act, Yami shot out his own hand and grabbed Seto's to stop him from falling.

_Gods. _The electricity that licked at Yami's wrist nearly undid him. Seto's hand was strangely soft in his own, the nails digging into the back of his hand evenly trimmed.

Seto let out a gasp despite himself at the feel of the calloused tan hand holding onto his own…saving him. _Fuck._

_I cannot let myself owe him anything._

_Also, fuck this whole damned thing._

Yami helped Seto hoist himself onto the branch where he was perched. Seto slapped his own hand out of Yami's as if the latter had some kind of contact-based disease that he was loath to catch.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Yami asked softly, his brilliant eyes boring into Seto's. _  
_

He only partially meant the view.

Seto gulped and took in what Yami had called him up here to see. _I must be losing it. That's the only explanation._

The view left him without words. As did the way Yami was looking at him right now.

_Like he wants me to…_

_Seto and Yami, sitting in a tree…_

Yami blushed as the old rhyme he'd heard Yugi's friends tease one another with popped into his head. The two men, sitting in this tree above this forest, the whole virtual world seemingly at their fingertips.

In this moment, despite everything, despite Noah's looming presence, looking for Mokuba and the idiot friends of not-Yugi, the threat of Gozaburo…

…That strangely did not matter in this moment.

Seto regarded Yami's trembling lips, his own heart disgustingly aflutter.

"Yeah," he murmured, before leaning in. "Beautiful."


	8. Instruction

**Prompt:** Azureshipping, Girl!Seto, dancing

**Pairing: **Téa x Girl!Seto

* * *

Téa pressed the PAUSE button on the CD player. "If this is too difficult for you, I totally understand if you want to go home ..." she murmured gently to Seto, who was having a devil of a time trying to follow the ballet lesson Téa was attempting to teach.

Despite her tall frame and graceful motions while walking and motion, Seto Kaiba was not a particularly graceful dancer-something she was most definitely the hard way. Standing as she was across from Téa, who went through her movements with far more ease and beauty than really _was_ fair, Seto could only glower as her body refused to respond to her commands.

_Arm up... port de bras... no, no, point the left toe... why does my foot look like a damned banana. This outfit is entirely too flimsy, and how exactly am I supposed to fucking concentrate when Téa's all flouncy and damned pretty like this?_

"Do you think I'm weak, Téa?" muttered Seto, suddenly feeling self-conscious in her leotard and tights... how utterly flat-chested, poky-limbed and inadequate she felt across from the busty, _perfect _Téa Gardner.

Téa's smile never wavered, and she dropped her pose and moved to adjust Seto's clumsy pose. Seto blushed indelicately as Téa's hands smoothed along her flesh, placed her arms in the correct position.

"Seto Kaiba, the last thing you are is weak. It's just that dancing is not easy for everyone! I spent _years_ training to get where I am today..."

"Yeah..." Seto grunted, eyes fixed on the floor. _Don't look at her chest. Don't look at her lips..._

Téa continued, gaily as ever, "... and _believe me_, if we were dueling right now, I'd be just as lost as you are right now..."

This Seto knew to be true, and acknowledged it with a little petulant sigh as she fought to hold the strange turned-out position Téa had her standing in, back straining from her efforts.

Téa giggled and planted a tiny kiss on Seto's nose, which made the taller girl turn nearly purple.

"One more time, Seto... from the top!"


	9. Mutual

**Prompt: Yugi and Téa, hanging out. For Aqua girl 007!**

**Pairing: Peachshipping**

* * *

The two of them had stood like that, eyes watering in the brilliant blaze of the sunset over Domino City, fingers wrapped around the chain-link fence on the roof of the high school, for what must have been an hour at that intently listening to the other's careful breaths, _in, out, in, out_, Yugi furrowing his brow, chewing on the inside of his cheek, Téa perking up whenever she thought she heard him clear his throat. No avail.

The two of them had spent a pleasurable if slightly cautious day together-they had met at Domino Station, grabbed a quick bite, and set out on a stroll throughout the town.

They had enjoyed themselves, to be sure, yet they had both pointedly avoided the arcade.

_It can't go on like this_, she thought halfheartedly, almost miserably, heart thrumming in her chest and eyes prickling.

He was so close-she could reach out her hand, nestle it in his hair, pull him up to his tiptoes and press his lips onto hers... but at this point, could she be sure he wanted that anymore?

Or was it merely the memory of the long-gone Pharaoh she missed, wanted to touch?

_No. It's not that, not anymore... _

Could she be sure?

This suggestion she had increasingly begun to doubt, as the memories and dreams of the proud Pharaoh that had plagued her had begun to be replaced by sweet dreams of her Yugi, not the "other Yugi", the Pharaoh. Just... _her_ Yugi.

The Yugi whose own tender heart shone a light that could never be matched.

Would Téa fall short? She wasn't as smart, as witty as other girls, and far too gawky-looking for him... the petite Rebecca Hawkins, for one, had her reeling in her tracks.

If she were to do what she so _wanted _to do, to prove that she wanted to be _his_ once and for all, with no Pharaoh and no shyness to muddle the moment... what would happen?

Would she ruin their closeness?

Would he reject her?

_The sunset is so beautiful_, she thought witlessly, as the last of the gold was swallowed up into a purple-red blaze of impending night.

It reminded her, cruelly, of his eyes.

Yugi heard her shifting, her constantly agitated body, and felt his heart ache. He felt stupid, utterly so, to have invited Téa on this-this outing, this _date_, whatever she wanted to call it, when he knew he never had a chance with her, and never would.

_She loves-loved the Pharaoh_, he thought painfully. _Not me._

She was beautiful, kind, sophisticated, and she could never find him a worthy replacement. They had made the tenuous journey from classmate to friend to _this_, all with the help of the Pharaoh.

Yet if he were to do what he had longed to do for such a long time now, and reach out his hand...

... and cover hers with it... tilt his chin up to meet hers, lips to her lips...

... he would undoubtedly spoil _everything._

The words bunched against her lips, demanding to be said. "Yu-Yugi," Téa stammered, the taste of his name overripe on her tongue.

Yugi turned his head and regarded her with interest, violet eyes shining in the dimming reflected light. He recognized something dangerous in her own glittering cerulean ones.

"I-I want you to know... gosh, I can't believe I'm saying this, when it's hopeless at this point..." Téa moved her hand to cover his.

Yugi was never quite so red as he was in that moment. Until...

"Yugi, I think I _like_ you." Téa moved her hands to cover her own blush, her chest positively vibrating.

... until _that_. Yugi bit his tongue so hard he tasted blood.

"Téa..."

"I know that you won't believe me because of the Pharaoh, but I promise that it's all in the past now. I like _you_, Yugi..." choked out Téa thickly behind her hands, fighting to keep tears of humiliation from streaming down her face, a rivulet of snot from running into her mouth. _Fuck. I've ruined it now._

"Téa," Yugi began, a tiny chuckle of relief creeping into his voice. He reached his hand to her shoulder, pulled himself towards her and planted a kiss on her hands.

"Me too."

_I like you too, Téa._

_Believe me._

At this, Téa looked at him, eyes blurry, and buried her face in his neck, arms wrapping around him like he would sink into the floor without her.

She murmured against his neck, tickling him, "well, we've got ourselves something on our hands, don't we?"

Yugi held her close. She could feel him nod, and he could feel her heart against his own, as the sky blanketed itself in deep blue.


	10. Reason

**Prompt: ** ** A street rat Joey Wheeler ends up in trouble with some gang thugs and gets some unexpected help from the fierce Mai Valentine; after they escape they share a moment with each other before they part ways. For MegaMovieMonday!  
**

**Pairing: Polarshipping**

* * *

Joey could feel the sweat dripping, all warm and runny, from his hairline and down his nose. A look at his shirt front revealed that it was not sweat after all; it was blood, a fair bit of it.

Joey still felt nothing.

The rivulets of red began to leak from the narrow slit on his forehead rather quicker than they should have; Joey wiped his head with the sleeve of his uniform jacket, not exactly caring that he was ruining it.

"Looks like Blondie's gearing up for round two, huh?" The thugs standing over him shared a brutal chuckle as they circled him once more.

He hadn't meant to get into an alleyway fight like this again; it had been _such_ a long time since he'd felt like this, like he was _looking_ for a fight. This... _angry_, he supposed, but also... _numb_. Numb enough, feeling that throbbing, cold emptiness, that hollow in his chest that made him leave the apartment, tiptoeing past Serenity's room where she slept soundlessly-the sleep of the untroubled, the innocent...

"I still got more, ya pricks."

He'd began prowling the streets of his neighborhood at that indecent, god-early hour, yowling and screeching between puffs of a cigarette he'd found in a pocket.

_Come and get me. _

_I ain't gonna run. _

_Come get me, ya fuckers. _

"Well, we'll certainly oblige ya..."

Joey realized, almost flippantly, that they were just now breaking a few of his ribs.

He wasn't exactly sure _why_ he was doing this, this childish business he'd been known for back in middle school. The gang brawls, the split lips and beer-bottle cuts on his arms and legs...

Nothing had felt quite right since the Pharaoh left, he supposed.

After he'd befriended Yugi and Téa way back at the beginning of high school, there hadn't been any _need_ for getting into these pointless scrapes just for the hell of it. He'd been able to drown out those dark, angry feelings with those of genuine love and friendship.

After Serenity had been taken away, Joey hadn't been able to _feel_ those kinds of things until Yugi had taken him under his tiny, fragile wing, a promise of gentleness, of eternity on his lips.

He'd felt anger and rage before, but never _this._

And yet, with the Pharaoh gone, with Joey's once-extraordinary days turned rote and pointless, that the rage, the fury, the love and happiness were being swallowed up by this nothing, this nothing that took all of his feelings and replaced them with a void.

What was this _eternity? _

Why wasn't the gang enough? Why wasn't _anything enough anymore?_

At night he still saw the dark corners of that place Marik had sent him so long ago.

Joey coughed up a bit of phlegmy blood and crumpled to the ground, eyelids struggling to stay open under the piling weight of blood.

He closed his eyes and waited rather resignedly for the feeling of a sneaker on his skull.

Suddenly a pair of headlights cut through the darkness of the alleyway, accompanied by a zooming sound and a series of obnoxious honking sounds.

"Hey, what's going on..." one of the thugs called out in wonderment as the convertible knocked over several trashcans in its advance towards the men standing around Joey.

Joey heard the hasty application of brakes, then the sounds of a car door opening and slamming shut, the sound of heels on pavement...

The cocking of a gun.

"Shit." "Come on, lady, we don't mean any harm."

"Get the _fuck_ away from him." A finger pulling a trigger. A shot firing into a nearby mailbox.

The sound of sneakers on the ground, growing quieter and quieter.

Long hair tickling his face.

A sweet smell of perfume...

Joey's eyes fluttered open at the feel of soft, long-fingered hands on his forehead.

"What are you _doing_, you big dummy?" came the petulant, scolding voice of one Mai Valentine, whose violet eyes shone with the twin emotions of concern and disappointment...

Concern for his current condition, disappointment in his being in said condition.

"M-Mai, I..." Joey's tongue grew thick, his neck warm, as he struggled to sit up.

_Fuck. _

_I didn't want her to see me like this..._

Mai put the safety on her pistol and replaced it in her garter-holster (_of course, _Joey managed to think), and helped him sit up.

A tear escaped from his eye and dripped off his chin. Joey wished it had been blood.

Finally, he _felt _the rewards of the blows he had suffered only minutes before.

"Fuck. Fuuuuuck..." His entire body shot through with acute pain.

"Well, what the fuck were you _doing_, Joey?" Mai's voice was soft, rounded with a sort of breathiness that sent shivers down Joey's spine.

_Is she_..._ really worried?_

_About me?_

"No ifs, ands, or buts, Joey, I'm taking you to the hospital." The firmness and audible pout in her voice returned; she clearly relished being able to give orders and have him take them.

He could only nod as Mai helped him to his shaking feet.

He felt like vomiting teeth.

He nearly blacked out from the pain and Mai half-guided, half-carried him to the passenger seat of the convertible. Her hand lingered perhaps longer than it needed to on his shoulder before rising to his neck, but Joey certainly didn't mind.

Once they were on their way, Mai driving the car smoothly on the empty Domino Streets in the early morning light, she finally spoke up again.

"Joey, what were you _doing_ over there?"

With some effort, Joey turned his head to wink at her. He almost sounded like himself as he teased, "aw Mai... I didn't know ya were _worried_ about me..."

"I'm not in the mood for games, _Joseph._"

"Ah, ya wanna use my full name. Looks like ya wanna get _serious. _What, do ya suddenly _care_ about me all of a sudden?" Joey rambled before he could stop himself.

Mai stopped the car abruptly at a red light, causing Joey nearly to be sick as the seatbelt strained and scraped against his bruised chest.

"Joey. What even..." Her voice was exasperated and resigned at his unnecessary callousness, coming out in a bit of a sigh at the end.

Joey looked at his hands and immediately wished he hadn't. The broken nails and bloodied knuckles made everything worse.

"Mai... nothing's been the same since..." Joey muttered, his words tasting sour on his tongue.

"...Since the Pharaoh left," Mai finished haltingly, looking up from the windshield to look at him quizzically.

_Since there's no longer any reason for me to be here. _

_What happens to the hero after he fulfills his destiny?_

_They never write about that part in the books, do they?_

"Joey, I'm not saying I believe in all that Pharaoh and destiny crap, but you can't let it..." Mai began, that familiar scolding tone coming back into her voice as she made a wide turn.

"No, Mai, _I saw it. He left. He lost to Yugi in a duel and then he just left us. _Gone. Kaputt. Nada!" Joey cut her off, feeling that familiar anguish twist his insides.

"So what, Joey?"

_She still doesn't get it._

Joey struggled to keep the tears out of his voice as he muttered thickly, "well, what am _I _supposed to do now?"

_I'm never going to help save the world again._

_The line of destiny ended with the Pharaoh leaving._

_What is left to do for me? _

_Why the fuck am I still alive?_

"Why the fuck am I still alive...?" he whispered aloud without realizing it, feeling that emptiness replace all the physical pain that flooded his every vein.

Mai's eyes widened for a moment as she pulled over in front of the local hospital.

Her voice was almost sad as she responded, "well, Joey, can't you think of at least _one_ reason...? One person who... who wouldn't mind it if you were around?"

Joey nearly swallowed his tongue in reply to the closest thing to a confession Mai had ever made.

_What the fuck...?_

_Does this mean she..._

And despite everything, despite the rain that roared wetly in his ears at his every breath, Joey felt a small smile curl on his lips.

An EMT noticed the car and approached, looking concerned at Joey's rather unpleasant condition.

"Now get out of my car and into the emergency room before I kick you out, Joseph Wheeler."


End file.
